EPPN Plant Phenotyping Symposium:

Next generation plant phenotyping for trait discovery, breeding and beyond: transnational access to European platforms

 >> book of abstracts

>> video reports

In this symposium we aimed at giving the users of phenotyping approaches and platforms the opportunity to present their work as a basis for a discussion between users, scientists operating phenotyping platforms as well as technology developers about the needs and requirements of plant phenotyping. We wanted to define the current status of plant phenotyping and identify major gaps and future requirements for the development of plant phenotyping science based on the reports about research performed at major plant phenotyping platforms. We specifically invited diverse users, technology developers, phenotyping experts and policy makers to discuss the status and future road of the emerging field plant phenotyping.

Plant Phenotyping:

Plants develop by a complex interaction of genotypes with the environments. The need to characterize the phenotype is essential to understand fundamental processes which determine the structure and function of plants. Significant progress has been made in molecular methods for plant breeding in recent years and the genomes of several plants have been sequenced. In genomics, revealing the function of most gens and their regulation patterns is regarded as the next challenge in utilizing molecular knowledge for plant systems biology and its application. However, this knowledge is not sufficient to simulate the phenotype of a plant without knowing the history and the dynamic interaction of the plant with its environment. A plant phenotype is the unique outcome of a process that dependents on the sequence of environmental impacts, in which it develop. Thus, plant phenotyping - quantitative analysis of structure and function of plants - has become the major bottleneck and, quantitative information on genotype-environment relations is the key to address future challenges. The gap between the knowledge about genes and phenotypes is particularly large in analyses of plant-environment interactions that are urgently needed for research and application to sustainable and resource-efficient crop production.

Organizers

Carol Richards, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Ulrich Schurr, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Jose Luis Araus, University of Barcelona

Roland Pieruschka, EPPN, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Contact

ippn@fz-juelich.de

Website: Ulrich Stegelmann, Forschungszentrum Jülich